Our department chair is a very good chair. Everyone in the dept. thinks so. But, he has wanted to NOT be chair for a long time. The reason he didn't quit as chair before now is that he felt no one else was both qualified AND willing to step in. When I first started working here, he eagerly asked me if I would be interested, as I had experience as chair where I used to work. At the time, I said no. But, a few weeks ago I told him that I would be willing to do it now, as I am feeling much better, I am familiar with the place now, and we have a new administration that should be easy to work with. (In addition, a dept. chair here gets both course releases and a pay raise!) So, he told our dean he would like to step down, and the dean is now soliciting chair applications from the dept. faculty.
All well and good, but then last week the new scandal about the "special" international programs broke. Most of these programs are agreements with Chinese universities. The computer science junior and senior level courses are largely (1/2 to 2/3) populated with Chinese students from these special programs. I just talked to the chair a few days ago, and it seems that the Chinese government is mad at us about this whole deal, plus the cancellation of the Confucious institute, and we will probably never get any more of the special program students. OOPS! So, now what do we do, Ms. Chair? Maybe this wasn't such a good time to be chair, after all!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Black days for the teapot.
Just as I was typing yesterday's post, more things started to happen.
Actually, it started yesterday morning when an administrator (NOT the one that resigned) missed a meeting, and could not be reached. Later, it was reported that he was distraught (cause unknown at this point), had a gun, and was on foot. The entire campus community was sent home, except for the dorm residents, who were put on lockdown. An elementary school and a high school in the neighborhood were also put on lockdown.
Later in the afternoon, his body, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot, was found in a neighborhood park.
I knew him, but not well. Other faculty members that knew him better were totally shocked. Never saw it coming. He was NOT mentioned in the judge's report, so whether or not this was related to the on-going scandals is not known at this point.
Actually, it started yesterday morning when an administrator (NOT the one that resigned) missed a meeting, and could not be reached. Later, it was reported that he was distraught (cause unknown at this point), had a gun, and was on foot. The entire campus community was sent home, except for the dorm residents, who were put on lockdown. An elementary school and a high school in the neighborhood were also put on lockdown.
Later in the afternoon, his body, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot, was found in a neighborhood park.
I knew him, but not well. Other faculty members that knew him better were totally shocked. Never saw it coming. He was NOT mentioned in the judge's report, so whether or not this was related to the on-going scandals is not known at this point.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Tempest in a Teapot - Fallout #3
The results of the audit were disclosed today. It seems that of the 500 or so students in "special" international programs over the last 9 years, about 90% of them were awarded degrees when they should not have been. Not the fault of the students, but of our own staff and administrators. Just exactly why and how that happened is not yet clear, but I'm just glad it's out in the open. Evidently the just-fired president was not the only one aiding and abbetting that kind of thing, but his predecessor, also. I have been hearing for years that this kind of thing was going on. Finally, someone is doing something about it! Hot dog!
Tempest in a Teapot - Fallout #2
The second head has rolled. The administrator cited in the report as having broken policy announced his resignation yesterday. (See Dec. 29 post to refresh your memory.)
The campus has been crawling with auditors for several months investigating lots of offices about lots of things, not just money. Everything. Today, the president wants to speak to the whole campus - faculty and staff in the morning and students in the afternoon - to tell us the results.
Oh, by the way, the proposed Confusious Institute has been cancelled. This faculty member is glad!
It would have been a bad idea for a campus this small in the best of times, and this is not the best of times.
The campus has been crawling with auditors for several months investigating lots of offices about lots of things, not just money. Everything. Today, the president wants to speak to the whole campus - faculty and staff in the morning and students in the afternoon - to tell us the results.
Oh, by the way, the proposed Confusious Institute has been cancelled. This faculty member is glad!
It would have been a bad idea for a campus this small in the best of times, and this is not the best of times.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Providence
Yesterday I made two choices that seemed trivial, but turned out to be very important.
The situation: I had washed some clothes, and were sitting in the washer waiting to be dried. In the afternoon (it was a Sunday) I needed to go into the office and do some preparations for Monday morning. As I was getting into the car, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to put the clothes in the dryer so they would be dry upon my return. But, I was lazy, and did not want to go back into the house, and so did not.
Later that evening, when I was home, I found myself with a sink full of dishes (I do not have a dishwasher) and should have put the clothes in the dryer so they could dry while I did the dishes. I did not. I got another attack of the "lazies" and decided to watch TV while the clothes were drying.
The TV is in a basement room next to the room with the washer and dryer. When the clothes had been drying for about 5 or 10 minutes, there was a very bright spark and a POP from the outlet where my dryer was plugged in. I went into the room, and did not see any immediate problems, but checked it again in a couple of minutes, and there was smoke coming out of the outlet. The wall behind the outlet was starting to turn brown. I unplugged the dryer and shut off the breaker at the box. Fire averted!
If I had started the dryer before I left for the afternoon, I would have come home to a pile of charcoal instead of a house. If I had been upstairs washing dishes while the dryer was going, it would have been somewhat better in that I would have probably been able to call the fire department, but there still would have been significant damage. Thank God for making me lazy yesterday.
The situation: I had washed some clothes, and were sitting in the washer waiting to be dried. In the afternoon (it was a Sunday) I needed to go into the office and do some preparations for Monday morning. As I was getting into the car, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to put the clothes in the dryer so they would be dry upon my return. But, I was lazy, and did not want to go back into the house, and so did not.
Later that evening, when I was home, I found myself with a sink full of dishes (I do not have a dishwasher) and should have put the clothes in the dryer so they could dry while I did the dishes. I did not. I got another attack of the "lazies" and decided to watch TV while the clothes were drying.
The TV is in a basement room next to the room with the washer and dryer. When the clothes had been drying for about 5 or 10 minutes, there was a very bright spark and a POP from the outlet where my dryer was plugged in. I went into the room, and did not see any immediate problems, but checked it again in a couple of minutes, and there was smoke coming out of the outlet. The wall behind the outlet was starting to turn brown. I unplugged the dryer and shut off the breaker at the box. Fire averted!
If I had started the dryer before I left for the afternoon, I would have come home to a pile of charcoal instead of a house. If I had been upstairs washing dishes while the dryer was going, it would have been somewhat better in that I would have probably been able to call the fire department, but there still would have been significant damage. Thank God for making me lazy yesterday.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Book Review - the Inheritance Cycle
A young man named Christopher Paolini has written a wonderful 4 book fantasy series called the Inheritance Cycle. I am just now wrapping up the 4th book. It's about a boy and his dragon, essentially, but a wonderfully complex narrative, especially the last 2 books. The first book, Eragon, was made into a movie that was only so-so, except for Jeremy Irons, who is always good.
The entire series is about various communities of humans, elves, dwarves, and other creatures fighting to overthrow an evil king. Much of it seems borrowed from the Lord of the Rings, such as the nature and appearance of the elves and dwarves. But, the way the evil king was defeated in the end seems quite original to me. At least, I have never encountered anything like it. Maybe someone out there has.
(Spoiler Alert) In essence, our hero sent the evil king on a guilt trip. This king had great ESP powers and could force his victims to hear, see, or feel anything. He could also inflict great mental pain. But, in this series, dragons also have ESP power, as well as the humans they are attached to. So, our hero, with dragon assistance, forced the king to hear the screams and feel the pain he had inflicted on his many victims over the years. It overwhelmed him, and he committed suicide. I've never heard of such a thing in a fantasy series.
I'm not quite finished with the book. There is a star-crossed love match between a human and an elf, and I am eager to find out how that pans out. But, it's a great series.
The entire series is about various communities of humans, elves, dwarves, and other creatures fighting to overthrow an evil king. Much of it seems borrowed from the Lord of the Rings, such as the nature and appearance of the elves and dwarves. But, the way the evil king was defeated in the end seems quite original to me. At least, I have never encountered anything like it. Maybe someone out there has.
(Spoiler Alert) In essence, our hero sent the evil king on a guilt trip. This king had great ESP powers and could force his victims to hear, see, or feel anything. He could also inflict great mental pain. But, in this series, dragons also have ESP power, as well as the humans they are attached to. So, our hero, with dragon assistance, forced the king to hear the screams and feel the pain he had inflicted on his many victims over the years. It overwhelmed him, and he committed suicide. I've never heard of such a thing in a fantasy series.
I'm not quite finished with the book. There is a star-crossed love match between a human and an elf, and I am eager to find out how that pans out. But, it's a great series.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Girl Programmer vs. Winter
Most of this fall and winter has been unusually mild for this area. A few times the temperature dipped to the single digits, but bounced back the next day. However, starting about a week ago, we have had a series of cold fronts, each more determined than the last to dip us into some serious bone chilling temps.
This saga begins with Tuesday night when Big Purple failed me. The zipper broke. Big Purple has no buttons or belt to fasten it closed--it's the zipper or nothing. It was already very cold, and the weather man said to expect temperatures to keep falling all day Wednesday.
When I left the office Wednesday evening at 4:00 it seemed especially nippy to me. In addition to the cold, there was a stiff wind from the north. I had to deliver a document to an office in another building. Normally, I would walk it over, but due to the coat problems and the cold, I decided to drive there.
My car had a little difficulty starting, which is unusual. And, I had just installed a brand new battery about 2 weeks ago. But, it did start, and I drove to the building (and found a parking place right in front!) and delivered the document.
I had on my best gloves, which are well padded and insulated. But when I returned to the car, the tips of my fingers were hurting. I thought, gee, it must be really cold.
I had some errands to run, but decided to postpone any of them that involved actually leaving the car. So, my next stop was the drive-by window at the bank. The time and temperature display at the bank said 14 below zero. Well, that's nippy. The bank errand did require me to have my car window rolled down for a period of time. Didn't like that. Next stop, the drive by mail box, then home. By the time I got home, my finger tips had stopped hurting, but not because they were warmer. Not good. They were red. I put them in warm water, then they started hurting again, but not for long, as they slowly warmed.
The weather man said last night that with the wind, our wind chill index was 30 below zero. No wonder my fingers hurt. I had church choir practice scheduled, but I was afraid that by the time I was finished at 9 pm, my car would not start. When it gets to about 15 or 20 below, car starting becomes an issue, unless your car is in an attached garage. Didn't want to risk it, so I didn't go.
So, it's Winter 1, GP 0.
This saga begins with Tuesday night when Big Purple failed me. The zipper broke. Big Purple has no buttons or belt to fasten it closed--it's the zipper or nothing. It was already very cold, and the weather man said to expect temperatures to keep falling all day Wednesday.
When I left the office Wednesday evening at 4:00 it seemed especially nippy to me. In addition to the cold, there was a stiff wind from the north. I had to deliver a document to an office in another building. Normally, I would walk it over, but due to the coat problems and the cold, I decided to drive there.
My car had a little difficulty starting, which is unusual. And, I had just installed a brand new battery about 2 weeks ago. But, it did start, and I drove to the building (and found a parking place right in front!) and delivered the document.
I had on my best gloves, which are well padded and insulated. But when I returned to the car, the tips of my fingers were hurting. I thought, gee, it must be really cold.
I had some errands to run, but decided to postpone any of them that involved actually leaving the car. So, my next stop was the drive-by window at the bank. The time and temperature display at the bank said 14 below zero. Well, that's nippy. The bank errand did require me to have my car window rolled down for a period of time. Didn't like that. Next stop, the drive by mail box, then home. By the time I got home, my finger tips had stopped hurting, but not because they were warmer. Not good. They were red. I put them in warm water, then they started hurting again, but not for long, as they slowly warmed.
The weather man said last night that with the wind, our wind chill index was 30 below zero. No wonder my fingers hurt. I had church choir practice scheduled, but I was afraid that by the time I was finished at 9 pm, my car would not start. When it gets to about 15 or 20 below, car starting becomes an issue, unless your car is in an attached garage. Didn't want to risk it, so I didn't go.
So, it's Winter 1, GP 0.
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